From a Mess to a Masterpiece

April 10, 2016

Today, I just really felt led to share from my heart.

I’m giving you a big hint with the picture above as to what my little heart sharing is going to be about. ……my precious granddaughter, Jaden. One of the sweetest blessings we (meaning Dan and I) have EVER received!!

To preface what I’m about to share, our friend preached at our church today and I was very moved by an analogy he used in his sermon. In 1st grade, art was his favorite time of his school day. It was his favorite time because he was allowed to finger paint. He got to take globs of finger paint and with his fingers he could just paint whatever he pleased on the canvas that he was given. He could get those little first grade fingers messy and create his own beautiful picture. Basically, he got to make a MESS. Then, as he would walk down the halls of his school, he would see other paintings hanging on the school walls, that were created by 6th graders who used paint brushes and other mediums to create their paintings. He would always be in awe of these paintings and thought of these paintings as MASTERPIECES!! He realized that as he would get older and with more knowledge and tools, he could become better and if he stuck with it, he could create masterpieces like those he saw in the hallways of his school. He compared this to what our Lord has done for us. There have been times in our lives, that have been just a big ‘ole mess!! I mean just messes that you would think would take FOREVER to clean up. But through the grace and mercy that the Lord gives to each and every one of us through his son, Jesus, He can take our messy canvas, work with us, give us the right tools, teach us, clean it up and create a masterpiece within us.

A messy painting for sure! Some of my students “gravity” painting from last year.

Fun!…..but not really masterpieces!

Here is the best I could do with finding a picture of a masterpiece that I could use for this post. Dan and I painted these flowers at my school last summer. However, it was not quite done freehand….thank the Lord for projectors that allowed me to trace the designs before I painted them!! But you get the idea…..our little masterpiece at school!

The right tools, the right paint, more knowledge and VOILA! A flower garden!

As our friend was finishing up, my eyes just welled up with tears. I couldn’t help but compare what he said to our situation over 12 years ago. ……

Our daughter became pregnant and she wasn’t married. She was 20 and was still living at home. When she told us, we really thought that the situation was a mess….not the baby that was inside her…..just the situation. So we knew that we wanted her to keep her baby…..no doubt about it, and with God’s help, we ALL trusted HIM to help us through this difficult journey in our lives.

That was back in 2007 , now we cannot IMAGINE our life without Jaden! Neither can her mom, her stepdad, her little sister, her uncle, her aunt and many others!! We all are so very blessed to have Jaden in our lives!! God has done an amazing work in her. We are so thankful for what He has done in her life. He continues to take her and work through her in so many ways. We look forward to what God has in store for her!!

So, today after the sermon, I was just so overwhelmed with thankfulness for how the Lord has blessed us with Jaden!

This struggle….. or mess…… in our lives over 12 years ago has turned into one of the most beautiful MASTERPIECES that God could have EVER given us!!

While we were eating lunch today, I just had to share that with Jaden.

Through my tears, I told her (with Dan sitting there agreeing and nodding his head….He’s so good at doing that! :)…..) that she needed to always remember that she is not a MESS!!

That God created her as a MASTERPIECE that will forever be PRICELESS in our family!!

Thanks for letting me share my heart today!

Enjoy your week and remember that you, too, are a masterpiece designed my God!!

Related

Hi! I am a kindergarten teacher who is passionate about her job! I am a christian woman who has been married for over 30 years. I have 2 terrific married children with awesome spouses! I also have a 9 year old and 5 month old granddaughter! I am truly blessed beyond measure!!